I just read a post from someone, who found an injured bird on the pavement, a collared dove nestling. This person shooed away some rooks, who pecked on the nestling.  As this is rather unlikely, lets pretend the person shooed away crows.  This person was on her lunch break, and needed to go back urgently to her work place. She took a number of pictures and videos before she left the dove, rushed back to work and spent then some time at work to compile a media post describing her encounter and also adding some pictures and videos to illustrate her story.

There are several plausible psychological and practical reasons why someone might prioritise a social media post over immediately rescuing an injured or poorly animal.

There are some people who belief in crowd mobilisation. Some people genuinely think posting online first will mobilise more resources, for example reaching wildlife experts, animal rescue groups or someone nearby with proper training. They may believe this creates a better outcome than attempting to help alone.

Another reason could be uncertainty about what to do. Many people lack knowledge about how to deal or catch a poorly bird. Posting online can feel like seeking advice before acting, especially if they worry about causing further harm or violating wildlife regulations.

Bystander dynamics could play a role as well. In some settings people may sometimes assume another person should handle the situation. Posting online can feel more responsible than acting independently.

Then, other individuals have developed a reflex to document unusual events publicly first, maybe to promote themselves.  They may want to raise awareness about wildlife issues, even if it delays direct action and puts the victim in jeopardy.

Of course then there is this option. Some people are genuinely uneasy around injured animals due to fear of disease, blood or simply discomfort with suffering. Delaying helps them manage their anxiety, though it does not excuse inaction.

It may also show deeply ingrained anthropocentrism and speciism,  showing disregard towards other sentient beings, unless they are human of course. I still have some hope in humanity, and do still belief that a person in this situation would not have left a toddler lying on the ground.

The core issue is a trade-off between immediate intervention versus mobilising broader help, which often enough makes the difference between life and death. While the well-intentioned intent behind posting might be “someone with expertise will see this”, time-critical situations like wildlife injuries generally favour immediate contact with local animal control or wildlife rehabilitators directly rather than via social media first.

If you are unsure about the situation, then stay with the animal, contact your local wild rescue and ask for advice.  If the situation is obvious, and if it is safe for you, then please secure the animal in need of help. You may want to use a cloth, scarf or shirt to cover and gently scoop up the animal. Find a well ventilated card board box, and put the animal in the box, ideally with a kitchen towel underneath. Now you can use the beauty of social media to find a wildlife rescue or to organise someone who can transport the animal to the wildlife rescue, if you cannot do it yourself, as this is the place the animal needs to go as soon as possible.

Please follow the links below to find out more of what to do in this kind of situation.

• Who to Help and Who to Leave Alone
• How to Catch a Poorly Bird
• General First Aid Measures